The price is out of whack.  None of these should go for over $2,000 but the free market will bear what it will bear.  That said, there aren't many (any?) options that are as good as this rifle.  If you care about that over all else (price, looks, etc.), then you get a SCAR.  I actually think the gun looks pretty good but needs to be black and have less of that barrel sticking out of the front.  Other than that it looks as good/ bad as most of the stuff out there.  On a side note, it is pretty f'ing classless to post some of this rude shit in a thread where a guy is sharing pics of a new rifle he's happy about buying.  I have to wonder how much of that crap comes from people who're jealous that they can't spend the money on it.

It doesn't have a gas piston.

There's a tappet in the gas block/FSB which impinges on the extended portion of the bolt carrier, what in other incarnations might be called an "operating rod".

It does have what in my opinion is a piston. I'll take some pics in just a few minutes. I have also heard on another forum that the gas regulator is the exact same as the fs2000.
Some things about the piston, it does not move freely in the cylinder like that of an m14, and it is fairly hard to remove and insert. To remove it you must take a section of cleaning rod and knock it out from the inside of the gun toward the end of the barrel.

Here are the pics:









This pic is a good shot of the gas piston. Notice the gas rings, when these are installed in the gun, they are not to be aligned.




This pic shows how far the piston pushes the op rod out of battery.

Plastic Lower?  No thanks, I'll keep my XCR.

Bet you didnt know the side rails were plastic too did ya

Your only going to see more future firearms with polymer parts. There ok for certain functions while not everything. They are lighter though for so many people on this site who have a hard time lifting more than a bag of potato chips while dipping them in ranch dressing.

My CX4's polymer rails work well enough for the job. Polymer flexes and than returns to shape. That's it's positive for a lower tensile strength.
I know I'd want to change the grip out on that Scar myself and wonder how strong the connection to the grip is.

What possible difference does it make? Ever seen a broken poly HK lower?

Cool, thanks for taking the time to post pictures.

Looks like a solid rifle!

Thank you for the good pics and the explanation of the operating system.  I had not seen that before.

Good to see photos of an actual delivered unit,  thought I would never see these in civi hands. I am happy for all who buy and like their SCAR, I cant justify the price tag to replace my AR weapon systems that give me zero problems. Thanks for the writeup.

Nice pics and awesome info! My SCAR should be here any day now!

I pray that is true for you and me both

My SCAR was supposed to be in my dealers hands back in feb.

I don't know when they should arrive, but mine was supposed to be delivered to the dealer on January 15th. I ended getting a call on the april sixteenth from my dealer saying they had finally recieved mine. I'm sure your rifles will turn up soon, and when they do, post up some pics.

What's the black thingme affixed with screws in front of the ejection port?

These screws hold the barrel in place. There are three along each side of the rifle, and you unscrew these and the barrel will slide out the front. An interesting side note though is that the quick change barrel feature is not mentioned in the manual.

IMO that would properly be called a tappet.  A piston, whether long stroke (like an AK) or short stroke (like a FAL), would extend back to the breech area.  In this case it impinges on the operating rod at the gas block.

There is this notion creeping in, due to the whole piston AR debate, that firearms are either piston or direct gas operated.  This dichotomy is false, and misleading; I've even seen HK 9x series rifles described as "piston" operated and nothing could be further from the truth.  There are a whole variety of operating systems for firearms and it behooves a student of arms to become familiar with the range of possibilities.  So I'm playing firearms terminology nazi, but with a noble purpose

I hadn't seen the gas block and tappet from a SCAR disassembled before though, and it's very interesting that they went to the trouble of putting gas rings and everything in there.  Taking cleanliness of the operating system to the extreme I guess.  That or if they lifted those parts from the FS2000, I can see on a bullpup where you might want more control over the disposition of gas from the gas system due to the proximity of the operator.

Yeah I have seen a few broken G36 receivers and USP frames.





 

The SCAR trigger housing doesn't have a lot of stress, unlike a polymer pistol frame or G36 upper.  When he asked about an "HK lower" he's talking about a trigger pack for a 9x series type.

The original SCAR prototypes had an aluminum trigger housing and SOCOM requested the change to polymer, there are several advantages. Polymer is a plus when used appropriately.

I'd like to see the lower manufacturing price of polymer parts passed on to the consumer.  Sorry, I'm not buying any explanations of the plastic rails being some advanced polymer, nor the lower receiver.  There is nothing in the manufacture of this gun that is a break-through or advancement in technology - certainly nothing to set the MSRP at even $2500.  Much like the FS2000 and PS90, this gun is hyped into being overpriced.  Let's hope production will reach a level where the price isn't so insane.

I agree with this. In my opinion, this rifle should not have an msrp over $1500. I don't see how FN came up with the msrp, it seems to me like molding plastic, and machining metal is a somewhat cheap process. I guess the price is the price, and I'm sure FN will sell all they can make at what ever price. It's not the high msrp that bothers me, but the actions of some people who are buying and re-selling these at insane mark-ups. If I hadn't been lucky and got in on a pre-order list, there is no way I would pay these insane prices to get one.

I forgot to say thanks for taking the time to snap pictures and post them for us all.  Have you shot it yet?

Thanks, It's no problem. I haven't shot it yet, but I had a range trip planned for tomorrow and my partner couldn't go tomorrow. Instead I am gonna go wednesday morning. and I'm hoping to run several hundred rounds through it, and have a range report.

I like FNs but not the SCAR needs a new stock. It's way out of my price range but that rifle would look
great with a better stock.

If you only care about the looks, then make your choice.

The stock fits great and is very usable in a variety of positions.

I'm sorry but they are pricing it at what the market can bare and it will probablly get down to the 2k range if it doesn't hit the fan. At the end of the day FN has no need to release these rifles or any other product to the public. Their bottom line would barely look different.

What action does the SCAR resemble the most?

Great pictures.

looks to be based on the AR-18, as are many current piston guns.

That's what I figured or FNC but a lot of people told me otherwise.

Okay, by way of comparison, here is a late 70's production AR180 upper that I have laying around (It's my spare upper)




Hmmm...that would make a good logo...


Ignore the dog hairs...






Hmmm this thing's dirty...



Yup...that makes a fine logo...


Any parts you want to see, let me know.

Thanks!

So is it safe to say that the SCAR use a modified AR18 action like the G36?

Any word on why the mags don't drop free? That would be my main concern, especially if the PMAGs can't be pulled out without brute force.

Negative.  This rifle is being released in such a way that they can move all the other slow-selling, non-profitable stuff they make.  It obviously makes a difference in FNH-USA's bottom line, as nobody has been buying FNP's, or FNAR's until it was required in order to get a SCAR.

On the issue of mags, as I have played around with it some more, my d&h magazines have started to drop free. The fn mag that came with the gun is not even close to dropping free in the scar, but will in my 6920. The p-mags are just a bad idea to try to use with the scar. They won't seat correct without a lot of force, and get bound up while trying to remove them. I don't have any explanation, but I figure the magwell is a bit smaller than my 6920 and shaped different.

What I meant was that FNH has no need to release any firearm to the civilian market. As their priority and vast revenue generation is done with their gov contracts (as you doubtlessly already know).  The fact they are selling them as part of a dealers pack is normal for any high demand product. Ruger did it with their LCP and S&W with the M&P line. With a Colt LMT or Noveske carbine (which are domestically produced weapons unlike the imported SCAR) at the $1750-$2000 mark already where should they have placed the MSRP. Keeping in mind that most products sell for less then the MSRP. Because the dealers are selling for the MSRP and the public is buying at that price point (or at much larger price point) is no fault of FHN.  Demand will lower and the price will deflate.

If we avoid a ban and that's a big if, I see the price hitting about the $22-2300 price range. Not great, but not far from LMT piston rifle w/ buis or Colt with Troy rails and a rear buis.

My friend firing off-hand


Well here it is, a review of my day with the scar. Before firing the scar, I cleaned and greased it up, in hopes this would help the break in procedure and life of the rifle. I took I 20 round colt magazine with me and one 30 round d&h magazine. Both of these now drop free. I also brought 200 rounds of federal xm193,  5,56mm hornady tap, and some black hills 77gr otm.

Me


First off, let me say that the gun shoots very smooth, is easy to keep on target during double taps, and seems to recoil lightly.
    The first thing I noticed today, was the need for a foward mounted vertical grip. The chaging handle is a little close to where I was naturally placing my thumb during offhand firing, and the whole bottom rail and the fore end of the rifle get hot, including the screws to remove the barrel. I had a tango down rail cover on the bottom rail, but the uncovered portions of the rail near the magazine well would give you a surprise if you didn't pay attention. I feel like having the vertical grip is a very important piece of the puzzle.
    The next thing I noticed about the rifle was the sights. I was using the factory iron sights at 80 yards, and felt like the sighting system was not well thought out. I realize the sights are designed as back ups, but I still felt like they should perform better than they did. I sighted the rifle in a 25 yards, as the manual states with the elevation drum set at 3. Doing so is supposed to give me the 25 yard/ 300 yard zero. Adjusting the front sight was a little tough due to the hood, I was able to use the nose of a bullet, but it was tough. Adjusting windage on the front sight requires a torx wrench, and was no trouble at all. Another down fall to the front sight is the front site post seems large to me. I am guessing it is the same size as the one on my ar-15, but it is not ideal for shooting tight groups. The rear sight isn't all negatives, the elevation drum settings seem to be right on. When sighted in at 25 yards on setting three, I brought it down to the 100 yard setting and shot groups that were just high at 80 yards. I never adjusted the rear sights windage. A benefit to the rear sight is it's apeture, to me it seems smaller than that of the smallest one on my ar, and the largest apeture on the scar is a good bit smaller than the largest on the ar. In my opinion, it is clear this rifle was designed to be ran with optics. Due to the large sights, I was only able to obtain groups right around 2" with federal xm193, hornady 5.56mm 75 gr tap, and black hills 77gr otm, granted I was just shooting to get a rough estimate of group size. With optics I feel like these groups would shrink a good bit.

6 rounds of federal xm193


10 rounds of black hills 77gr


This is supposed to be 5rds of hornady 75gr tap


I must say, the trigger is a good match for the rifle. It felt good and didn't play a negative role in accuracy at all. I have to take this moment to say that the stock is very comfortable. I feel like the stock is the most comfortable of any rifle stock I have felt. The cheek weld is great, and the cheek piece is very comfortable. I must say I am a big fan, even though some say it looks bad, it does function very nice.

After firing several rounds, and several groups from the bench, I decided to fire some rounds off-hand. Now I did so bad in the off-hand postiion, that I didn't take any pics of the "groups", but I felt like the rifle was very easy to get back on target. I fired several double taps at 25 yards, and could pretty much keep the rounds on the paper I was shooting at, which was about 14"x 22". During these double tap strings the gun got pretty hot, and resulted in the discoloration of the barrel. I bring this up, because in my opinion it is a good bit of discoloration, for the amount of heat that the rifle had in it. Compared to my ar, which has hardly changed color, the scar has changed a lot. On the barrel after the discoloration are rectangles where the color did not change. This is hard to explain, but I happened about 2" rear of the muzzle brake and these five rectangles go all the way around the barrel, if that makes sense.

This is trying to show the discoloration, and hopefully some of the rectangles, which are visible


Speaking of the muzzle break, I don't like it at all. From what I've heard it's supposed to be a flash suppressor/ muzzle break, but it doesn't suppress flash at all. During the bright sunlight shooting xm193, my friend said he could see muzzle flash from almost every round. When I have fired my ar-15, he has told me he has never seen the flash. Both times using xm193.

When I got home, I could wait to break it open and see what kind of mess was left on the inside. After firing two hundred rounds, and not having any problems what so ever, here are the pics:


The mess on top of the gas block










And for comparison, the inside of my 6920 after 220 rounds of xm193


That is my review of the scar, hopefully you have found it helpful, and thanks for reading. Please remember this is my opinion, but the high points are as follows: flawless function, lack of mess in the action, shoots accurate, very comfortable, easy to control and manipulate, and just plain fun to fire. The main drawbacks are: the sights, and the muzzle break.

Very cool.  Thanks for the report.

The FSC556 does a great job as a combination brake/flash reducer.

It is not an ideal brake nor is it an ideal flash suppressor.

But it does a very good job at both.

It really does a great job at reducing recoil and keeping the muzzle down.

tag

and those discolored spots are probably oil from the egg shell in your foam case, My suppressors will look kinda like that when they get hot. If you dont have a case like that disregard-its something else

Fantastic review! You should put an optic on it to see how tight you can make those groups. And do it with a Lead Sled or something solid.

Looks are soooo important to SOCOM,  they must have chose it just so they could look different than the regular army now that everybody wears beretsand carries M4's , it surely couldn't have been performance.

Nice review––thanks for all the time spent doing it.

I'd like to get one, as soon as they become more available (and I save up enough).

I think they look awesome.  I also had a Pontiac Aztec, though, which was a great vehicle (except for the rear latch mechanism).

You have a moped too?


j/k

This is on my to do list. I am also hoping to get to the local 650 yard range and try it out.

I got the chance to fire the scar again today. I fired a total of 80 trouble free xm193 rounds at 50 and 80 yards. The main goal today was to get a good 50 yard zero on both my scar and my ar-15, which gave me a good chance to shoot them side by side.
First off, when shooting the rifles, the scar is by far the lighter recoiling rifle. When looking through my aimpoint, the dot hardly moved after each shot, while the ar moved a good bit and provided more of a "jolting" recoil. I feel like the muzzle brake was what helped keep the rifle on target, it creates a fairly smooth and almost unoticable recoil. The cheek weld is much more comfortable on the scar, especially when keeping your head in the firing position for somewhat long periods of time. Groups were about equal with each rifle, the scar had an aimpoint while the ar has it's iron sights. I feel that with practice the aimpoint would be better accuracy wise, but i'm still learning how to use it as well as I can use iron sights. Truth be told, I took 100 total rounds and was going to split them equally between the two, but I ended up shooting the majority with the scar simply due to the fun factor.

After my range trip today, I have come up with some accessories I am going to buy for the scar. As I have mentioned before a foward grip is needed. Today I took a charging handle to the thumb without even paying attention to where my left hand's thumb was. In my opinion, it was a hard lick, and I figured I had caused a fail to feed, but to my surprise the rifle chambered the next round and fired. I am going to be purchasing a tactical sling of some sort. I have never had a tactical sling and I'm thinking I'm gonna buy the Viking MK2 sling. The last item is a change I am going to make, I'm going to buy an AAC blackout flash hider or a vortex and put on instead of the muzzle break that came on the scar. I simply don't like having the muzzle break/ flash hider combo, when there are better flash hiders on the market. Something that can't be changed but caused a little grief today was the charging handle placement with my aimpoint mounted. It will take a little getting used to, but my knuckles drag the bottom of the aimpoint mount when retracting the charging handle.
Overall, this is now one of my favorite rifles. I haven't put enough rounds through it yet to speak of it's true reliability, or accuracy but so far it has been very pleasing.
I didn't have a range partner today, so no range pics, but I have some post range pics:

This is showing the clearance of the charging handle and aimpoint mount. I know some of you will say to move the optic, but in my opinion it is in the best position balance wise, and still provides the ability to use a 3x magnifier.


This pic is showing how clean the chamber is. I only fired 80 rounds, but there is hardly any grime in there. I am also thinking I'm not gonna clean it until after the next range trip or so.

I actually wouldn't mind having an FNAR.  I just won't puke up $1800 for a rifle.  Any rifle.

Put the Aimpoint in the mount "backwards".

So that the locking lever is on the right side of the rifle.

Thanks for the update.  Congrats on the rifle.

Sean

+1, I have no idea why manufacturers in general keep putting levers on the "inside" or port side of a rifle for right handed shooters.

Thats something I thought of, but I wasn't sure if everything would work correctly. I think I may have to give it a try on the next range trip.

Is that thing really 4 different colors?